Zootopia: Lurkers from the deep
by Tornado5d
Summary: The year is 1922, Judy and Nick are investigating a kidnapping, but find something much bigger and dangerous then they would have thought in this H.P. Lovecraft inspired story. Edited by Frankie3110, Cover image by Sengoku
1. First Encounter

**Zootopia: Lurkers from the deep**

 _This story is based off the Works of author H. . This story follows Judy and Nick as Private investigators in the year 1922 and are hired to find a missing predator, but as they get deeper into the case the more they start to lose their minds. I do not own any of the source material used in this story._

 _ **The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown-H.P. Lovecraft**_

 **Chapter 1: First Encounter**

Zootopia, 1922

It is a cold and cloudy day in the city, Judy is calmly walking to work. The streets were loud and lively with cars on the streets and plenty of mammals doing the same as her. It was a Monday so it was a very busy street. She was wearing a light blue suit, a fedora to match, and a white shirt and no tie, she wore these because she felt it more fitting to wear while investigating crime scenes and other places as it was easier to move around and a dress just wouldn't work out, especially if she needed to fight her way out. When she was younger she always wanted to be a police officer because she wanted to help other mammals, but women were not allowed to become such, so she decided on becoming a Private Investigator and help mammals out that way. After getting her license she was the first female P.I. in the city. This had made her very proud of herself, but most mammals ignored her because of her gender. But in 1919 she would start to gain recognition when she was hired by Chief Bogo of the ZPD to help in finding 14 missing predators, he had done this because there were not enough officers to look for them. On her first day she went in as optimistic and positive as she always was but came back frustrated and disappointed because she was unable to find any leads.

On the second day, she went to an informant who told her of a mammal who could help her with the case, this mammal was none other than Nicholas Piberius Wilde, her future partner, and best friend. Nick was a veteran of the Great War and a con artist when

Judy had first encountered him, he and his partner in crime Finnick were gathering ice and snow from Tundratown then melting it and putting it in bottles to sell in Sahara Square at premium price. They also would take rigged party games that nobody could win to the pier. At first, Judy and Nick did not get along at all which would lead to the pair bickering more than solving the case. However they started to grow closer together as friends and ended up finding all 14 of the missing predators, they were all being contained by a cult-like antipredator organization that believed that predators needed to be sacrificed so that the world could live peacefully. This group was lead by none other than Dawn Bellwether, the wealthiest mammal in Zootopia. This had surprised the entire city and soon afterwards Judy had asked Nick to become a P.I. like herself so that they could run their own business together. He didn't refuse and the two opened up Hopps & Wilde Private Investigators and were very successful in their work.

That was one of Judy's best memories and she loved thinking about it all the time, she loved to work with Nick and he loved to work with her. The two were an unlikely pair but that didn't bother them at all. In fact, they got along better than anyone would've expected as they would often play jokes on each other and Judy would always tell Nick some of her greatest secrets, except for one: she was in love with him. When she arrived at work she patiently waited for Nick because she always liked to open their investigative firm as a team, she finally saw Nick, he was wearing an emerald suit, vest and fedora with a white shirt and a navy blue tie, he also had a gun holster that held his Colt m1911 that he had used during the war(Judy preferred to use her fists or feet if things got out of hand). Judy loved that suit because it matched Nicks' eyes and she thought it looked good on his bright orange fur. "Morning, carrots" greeted Nick in his smug tone,

"Morning, slick" replied Judy in a cheerful yet smug manner that rivaled his,

"You know you don't have to wait for me to arrive to open up, Judy" replied Nick,

"I know but it makes the moment more magical when you're here," said Judy with wide eyes and a whimsical tone, Nick rolled his eyes and replied "I hate it when you do that"

"I know," said Judy in a sly tone. Judy finally unlocked the door to their building, inside were two large oak desks both filled with papers, these were Judy and Nick's desks in which they would analyze their cases, to the right of the desks were two large filing cabinets filled with the duos' solved cases, and in the back a fridge and a coffee maker were located just in case they needed extra hours of work. However lately there had been no business and the two friends were bored: "So, any new cases, fluff?", asked Nick as he was yawning,

"No" said Judy in an annoyed tone, then they heard the door open. A female arctic fox walked in, she was wearing a blue dress that matched her eyes, and carried a black handbag. "I heard you two were the best P.I.'s on this side of town, and that you could help me find my husband", she said with a light voice as she walked in,

"Well you heard correctly, I'm Judy Hopps and this is my partner Nick Wilde" Judy replied as she was preparing to shake the fox's hand: "My name is Juniper" the arctic fox replied.

"So, when was the last time you saw your husband before he went missing?", said Nick in a professional manner,

"He didn't just go missing he was kidnaped," Juniper said in a worried tone.

"How do you know he was kidnaped," asked Judy.

"I know because it saw the whole thing" replied Juniper.

"Can you tell us how it happened then?" asked Nick.

Juniper looked like she would burst into tears at any moment,"Well, we live in an apartment near the bay,*sniff* and he was outside fishing on one of the docks, i was watching him from our apartment on the second floor, when all of the sudden two monsters came up from the dock and grabbed him,they ran off before I could call the police" she then began sobbing uncontrollably.

"Excuse me did you say monsters?" asked Judy in a puzzled tone.

"*sniff* yes" replied Juniper.

"Could you describe them to me then?" replied Judy.

"I didn't get a good look at them, but from where I was they looked like they were some sort of fish creature" said Juniper, Judy proceed to write down all the given information, while Nick tried to keep himself from laughing at the whole situation: "Now what does your husband look like?" Judy asked.

"Well, he's a black fox with green eyes, and is about the size of your partner, also his name is Clayton"

"Thank you, ma'am" replied Judy. As soon as Juniper left Nick started to laugh like a hyena, Judy put a stop to it quickly by punching him in the arm: "Nick it's not funny, this poor vixen's husband was kidnapped!" Judy said angrily.

"Do you seriously believe that her husband was kidnaped by fish monsters? That sounds like a story written by H.P. Lovecat" Nick said.

"Who?" Judy replied.

"He writes horror stories in pulp magazines, some are actually pretty go-"

"Quiet Nick, this isn't some story, someone is actually missing, and whether or not fish monsters are involved we are going to find him," Judy said in a stern and decisive voice. Later that day Judy and Nick went to the area where Clayton had been kidnapped. When they got there they noticed that the police had not been there at all due to the fact that it was still open to the public, in fact, there was an otter and beaver fishing there just like Clayton was doing before he was taken. "Excuse me," said Nick in a professional tone, "do either of you have any knowledge of the fox who was kidnaped here?". The otter and beaver looked his way, "I don't think so, Sir" said the otter,

"What about you?" Judy asked the beaver.

"Nope. All I know is that he lived in that building with his wife" the beaver replied, "but if you go down the street to where all the pubs and restaurants are you might find someone who knows something".

"Thank you, sir," Judy said.

"No problem ma'am" the beaver politely replied. Judy and Nick then headed to some of the pubs and restaurants and were unsuccessful with their search for Clayton, they then entered the pub closest to the water to see if they could find some answers. "We've asked just about everything we can," Judy said to Nick.

"We can try telling people he was abducted by monsters," Nick said jokingly.

"Excuse me, sir, did you say abducted by monsters?" said a quiet yet interested voice. Judy and Nick looked in the direction of the voice and saw a very tall and skinny black cat. He was wearing a black suit and vest with a grey shirt and a red tie. "Why yes I did" Nick responded.

"Could you describe these monsters to me?" asked the cat.

"Well they're like fish but can walk on their hind legs like us; fish people you could say" Nick replied.

"Ah, I know exactly what you're talking about"- this greatly caught the attention of the two officers - "Follow me i know where they like to go at night" he then got out of his chair to show Nick and Judy where he had seen them.

"This cannot be for real" Nick said to Judy, doubting the cat's words.

"Quiet slick this is the only lead we've had all day so let's give him a shot" Judy replied.

"Alright" Nick replied "but if he's just some nutjob I'm blaming you"

"Blaming me for what?" Judy asked.

"If our bodies are found tomorrow by the cops," Nick said smugly.

"Shut up Nick we'll be fine",

"Are we ready to leave?" asked the cat,

"Lead the way," said Judy. They walked for about ten minutes until they reached two buildings located towards the end of the bay. "They like to go in the alley-way between those two buildings," said the cat.

"This looks like the perfect place to get murdered" Nick whispered to Judy.

"Quiet" she whispered back, Judy looked around and noticed that the cat was gone.

"I guess he doesn't like it here either," Nick said.

"We should get back to the office and wait till it gets darker, then come back with more supplies," Judy said.

"Sounds good to me, Carrots" replied Nick, and they headed back.

When they got back they gathered their crime scene investigation supplies as well as a flashlight because unlike Nick, Judy did not have night vision. It took them about an hour to walk back to the alleyway. It was 7:00 p.m when they finally got there. They noticed that the alley was empty, "We did all that walking for nothing?" Nick said.

"Shut up Nick there has to be something we can find" Judy replied.

"Like what?" Nick asked.

"I don't know maybe something that seems out of place," Judy said in an annoyed tone.

"you mean like this white brick?" said Nick.

"White brick? What white brick? This better not be a joke, Nick" said Judy in a stern tone.

"I'm not joking, Judy," Said Nick as he was pointing to the brick,"It looks like there's writing on it".

"What does it say?" Judy asked curiously.

"Can't see it, it's covered with moss," Nick said. He then proceeded to scratch off the moss with his claws, it read _The Esoteric Order of Dagon,_ "What do you think that means?" Nick asked.

"Maybe it's some sort of cult" Judy replied.

"Well at least we know the monsters have a place to hang out," Nick said jokingly, he then leaned on the brick, and a loud clicking noise started to sound. This startled Nick and he jumped away from it. Then a large part of the alley opened up to a long set of stairs that looked like they led to a black empty abyss, "Ladies first" Nick said to Judy in a comical way as he hid behind her. She then began to walk down the stairs with him. They walked for about 5 minutes until they reached a large chamber, it was very cold and dark and had moss growing everywhere. They stepped off the stairs and realized that there was about a foot of freezing cold water. Judy took out her flashlight and saw a very strange looking altar with a huge stone slab in front of it, there were also large piles of what looked like rocks on either side of the stairs, but before they could look for any evidence of Clayton they heard footsteps coming from the stairs. Judy quickly turned off her flashlight and hid behind the piles of rock with Nick, "Uhh carrots" Nick whispered.

"What?" replied Judy.

"These aren't rocks, they're bones" Nick whispered with fear in his voice. Before Judy could respond the assailants had finally reached the bottom of the stairs, there was torchlight illuminating the stone room, Judy and Nick looked up and froze in fear of what they saw. It was a somewhat large group of mammals but they all looked like grotesque monsters. All of them had strange looking scars on their neck that almost looked like fish gills, others had patches of rubbery grey-green skin where fur should be, some didn't have ears or even snouts, but worst of all, a large number of them had large claws on their hands and feet that were webbed as well as large black eyeballs with no eyelids. Judy and Nick were speechless at the horrific sight, then an unidentifiable mammal who had a fish like head and body, the only thing it had left was a tail that was barely visible. It then spoke with a raspy and gurgly voice "My brothers and sisters as you know our order has been short on members and that we must kidnap mammals in order to breed and sacrifice them to the deep ones in order to have a successful fishing year, we will now bring out the sacrifice" two of the monsters brought out a black fox who was stripped naked, it was Clayton."Judy look it's him" Nick said as quietly as he could.

"What are we gonna do?" asked Judy, but before Nick could reply a much larger fish creature had emerged from behind the altar, the two others who had Clayton tied him to the large stone slab, the one that had emerged from the altar went to the slab and proceed to forcefully mate with Clayton. Judy and Nick were paralyzed with fear and were unable to move, when the creature was finished it took its long sharp claws and jabbed them into the poor foxes chest, it then proceeds to tear him apart. Clayton was dead. Nick and Judy were still unable to move until Judy sneezed, both Judy and Nick's stomachs dropped and they felt an overabundance of dread, they then looked out from under the bones and saw the creatures heading in their direction. They then began to run out as fast as they could. One of the beasts took a swipe at Judy with its claws but had just missed, Nick pulled out his gun and shot one of the beasts dead, as they finally reached the exit they noticed that it was pouring down rain, they then ran for a solid 10 minutes and had lost the monsters, they had to quickly find an inn or motel to stay in before they got hypothermia or pneumonia. Judy and Nick walked silently for another 10 minutes until they found a motel to stay the night at. Nick made sure that the room had a coal furnace for him and Judy to dry and warm up. When they got to their room they stripped to their undergarments and lit the furnace, they sat there silently for 15 minutes until they were completely dry and warm. Nick then looked over at Judy and noticed that her nose was twitching and that she was shaking, Nick got closer to her and said: "Are you ok?"

"I just saw an innocent fox get killed by the most horrid group of people I ever saw, of course, I'm not okay," she said on the verge of tears, Nick then wrapped his arms around her and started to rub her back, she then began sobbing uncontrollably. "I'm so afraid Nick" Judy sobbed, "We could've died"

"Its ok Judy, I'll protect you," said Nick in a gentle voice.

"I'm so afraid Nick" Judy cried.

"Its ok to be afraid Judy, that's all I ever was during the war. Fearing about my life, my comrades, my country. I stayed alone most of the time because I didn't wanna become friends with anybody because of the fear that I might lose them. In war, nothing is granted. Fear gets to the best of us, but it's a way to keep going"

"What if they find us, Nick?"

"They won't find us, I promise," Nick said reassuringly, "We should really try to get some sleep now," Nick said.

" I don't think I can sleep after all that just happened," Judy said, "I just don't feel safe"

"What if I laid next to in your bed and keep an eye on you? Will that help?" Nick asked

"I don't know" Judy cried.

"What if I held you, then would you feel safe" Nick asked.

"Yes" replied Judy, they then proceed to get in the bed, Nick wrapped his arms around Judy and comforted her until she finally fell asleep, Nick was also having some trouble with sleep, all he could think about was Judy and how much he loved her. A secret, and also a fear of his.


	2. Please Believe us

**Chapter 2: Please Believe Us**

Nick had woken up at 6:30 but hadn't gotten out of bed because Judy was still asleep. Nick didn't mind because he felt warm and comforted with the small rabbit holding on to his bare chest. He looked around the room, all he could see were small patches of the motel carpet that were illuminated by the warm morning sunbeams. Nick had then decided to reach over and open the blinds, trying his best not to wake the sleeping rabbit as he knew what she could be like if woken up mistakingly. He was able to open the blinds halfway before giving up as he did not want to have to face the wrath of Judy after she would've fallen off the bed and hit the floor, Nick then looked out the window to see the city as active as it always was, cars and buses going to various places and mammals walking to work or shopping. As he was looking around he noticed a mammal who looked like it may have been a wolf staring directly at him, the wolf was wearing a large beige trench coat with sunglasses, he was also wearing bandages on his face hands and feet almost as if he were hiding something. Nick then felt Judy start to wake up and he turned his head toward her, "Morning sleepyhead, how was your night" Nick said to Judy in a joking yet compassionate voice.

"It was horrible Nick, I couldn't get those horrific things out of my head, I probably wouldn't have even been able to sleep if it weren't for you"

"Well, I'm happy that my foxy goodness was able to put you to sleep" in a comical sly voice. " Shut up Nick," Judy said tiredly.

"Come on, I know deep down you secretly want to cuddle my tail 'till it falls off". Judy blushed because Nick was correct. She had always wanted to cuddle his tail as it was perfect for her size and could only imagine how warm and comfortable it would feel wrapped around her, but he was always very protective of it. Judy then got out of bed to go shower and get some coffee, Nick proceeded to look out the window again and noticed that the wolf was gone. Judy was still terrified of the previous night's encounter and just let the warm water from the shower comfort her, she liked the feeling of hot water on her fur and skin as it always relaxed her. Putting her head on Nick's chest last night reminded her of that warm feeling. His fur soft, his ascending and descending chest as he breathed, all so relaxing and comforting. If only she could tell him how she really felt. She phased out of her twitterpated state before she could start having bad thoughts and finished cleaning herself as fast as she could. She then got out of the shower and wrapped a towel around her body and got a cup of coffee, Nick was still on the bed, "So, you ever gonna get out of bed today?" Judy teased.

"No, I was thinking of staying here all day while you went to the police to get help" Nick replied in a smug voice, "You really think we should go to the ZPD?" Judy said in a questionable tone."Well, who else has the supplies to wipe out all those monsters, because of we sure as hell don't" Nick said as he sat up from the bed. "You go take a shower, Nick, I'll get our clothes ready," Judy said. "Boop" Nick said as he touched his pointer finger to Judy's nose, Judy rolled her eyes, she always hated when Nick did that, "Sometimes I wish you didn't always act like a child" Judy said annoyed, "Come on, I know you love it" Nick said on his way to the shower.

Judy went to where they hung their suits, they were still damp from the night before but would dry off, Judy finished her coffee and proceed to remove the towel so she could get dressed. Nick was still in the shower when she finished getting dressed, "Come on Nick you've been in there for almost 30 mins" Judy yelled, "I'm not finished yet" Nick yelled back.

"What are you even still doing in there," Judy asked.

"I'm still grooming my tail" Nick responded, Judy always thought that Nick had a strange attraction to his tail as he always made sure it looked its best and was always super protective of it. One time she thought she heard Nick talking to it, "If you don't come out soon I'll cut it off" Judy yelled. Soon after she heard the shower turn off and Nick then exited the bathroom, he had a towel around his waist and wasn't completely dry, "here are your clothes" Judy said as she handed Nick his green suit. "aww it's still wet" Nick whined.

"Don't be such a baby and just put it on" Judy responded. After Nick got dressed they proceeded to walk to the hotel lobby and check out. "I'll go check out," Judy said.

"Ok," Nick said, as he headed for the door. When Judy was finished she heard a loud groan from Nick, "What's wrong this time?" she asked.

"The concrete is still cold and wet from last night's storm, Nick replied, Just about every non-amphibious mammal in Zootopia hated the day after rainstorms due to the fact that their feet would be cold and wet after walking on the concrete. "Of course it is," Judy said annoyed, they then made their way to the ZPD. The city was drab with cold winds and a slight fog but this didn't stop much of the activity that always went on it. Judy and Nick were headed towards a nearby bus stop so they could get to the center of town where the 1st precinct of the police department was located. Nick looked at all the differently sized mammals surrounding him and Judy when he then noticed the same wolf who had been watching him from earlier. "Judy," Nick said as he tapped her shoulder, "What is it, Nick?" Judy replied.

"You see that wolf in the trenchcoat?"

"Yes,"

"He was watching us from the motel window, so we should keep our guard up," Nick said sternly. When he looked back to the wolf's position he was gone. They finally got to the bus stop and waited about 20 minutes for the bus to arrive. It took about a half hour to get to Sahara Square, Judy and Nick were mostly silent the entire ride as they were still disturbed by the previous night's events. They finally got to Sahara Square they got off the bus and headed for the ZPD, "So what are we gonna tell the chief?" asked Nick.

"I'm not sure yet but I'll think of something," Judy said nervously. They arrived at the ZPD 5 minutes later and proceeded to walk through the large doors. As they entered they heard a loud squeal, " Judy, Nick!" shouted Benjamin Clawhauser in a light-hearted and jovial Voice. Clawhauser was the main maintenance mammal of the ZPD and one of the few predators who worked there, however, the only jobs predators could get at the ZPD were maintenance and custodial, the rest was filled with prey. "So you guys working another big case that requires the help from the ZPD?" Clawhauser asked.

"Why yes we are," replied Nick.

"Do you know if the chief is busy?" Judy asked Ben.

"I don't think so but you should be careful he's pretty grumpy"

"When is he not Grumpy?" Nick deadpanned. Ben laughed at that then proceeded to go back to his work. "I'll see you guys later," he said. Judy and Nick then went to the chief's office. When they arrived Judy knocked on his door, "don't screw this up Nick," Judy said to Nick in a serious tone. "When have I ever screwed anything up," Nick said back. Before Judy could reply Chief Bogo had opened the door, "Well if it isn't Hopps and Wilde, what did you mess up this time?" Bogo said in his usual grumpy tone.

"We need help with something Chief," Judy replied.

"Since when do the two of you need help?" Bogo said in a curious tone.

"Well we were hired to find a fox who had been kidnaped, and when we found him he," Judy had stopped because she was still traumatized by the events and didn't even want to think about it let alone talk about it. " He was?" Bogo replied in an annoyed tone.

"He was violated and ripped apart by monsters!" Nick blurted out.

"Very funny Wilde how long did it take for you to come up with this one?" Bogo said with an aggravated tone. "No chief he's telling the truth," Judy said with fear in her voice.

"So Hopps is in on it too I see, come back when you have a real problem next time," Bogo said with anger in his voice. "This isn't a joke chief we know where they're hiding," Nick said aggravated. "Alright Wilde humor me, show me where these creatures hide then," Bogo said with a hint of sarcasm. "Alright I will come on Judy we're taking Chief Buffalo Butt to the bay," Judy froze at the thought of going back there. "Judy are you ok?" Nick said concerned. Because of this, he didn't notice the curiosity in Bogo's eyes.

"I don't want to go back Nick," Judy whimpered.

"Judy, if we show the police they can help us put an end to this," Nick said compassionately. "Alright Nick," Judy replied. Bogo agreed to go with them since they're good detectives and respects them, but he didn't believe what Wilde said. _There are no monsters,_ he said to himself. They headed out to the bay.

After about an hour and a half, they got to the bay area of Zootopia. "Come on Chief they have a meeting place in between these two buildings," Judy said pointing.

"This doesn't look like a good place to hide," Bogo said.

"There's a secret entrance to their underground lair under the bay," Nick responded. He then took Bogo to the area where the white brick that had opened the door was. "See that patch of moss covering that white brick?" Nick said to Bogo.

"Yeah what about it," Bogo replied.

"Scratch it off," Nick instructed Bogo. "You see it?" Nick asked.

"See what?" The buffalo replied.

"The writing on the brick," said Nick.

"There is no writing on this brick, Wilde," The chief replied, Nick then looked at the brick and noticed that the words were gone. "Well that's not the important part, This is," Nick said as he tried to push the brick in. "What are you doing Wilde?" Bogo said confused.

"Well this brick was the switch that opened up the secret entrance to the secret lair but I guess it's gone now, but how?" Nick said.

"Am I going to have to send the both of you to the Cliffside Insane Asylum?, " Bogo said in an angry and stern tone.

"No, Chief this isn't us being delusional, we were almost killed by these things," Judy cried out. "Oh really they tried to kill you, well you both look perfectly fine to me!" Bogo yelled. " This is a waste of my time goodbye," Bogo said to them angrily.

"No Chief wait, please just believe us!" Bogo left in his automobile as he left Judy shouting and starting to cry. "I knew this would happen," Judy said hopelessly. Nick then went over to Judy to hug her "Calm down, Judy. We need to be strong if we're gonna solve this case by ourselves," Nick said softly to Judy.

"What do we do now Nick? " Judy sobbed.

"I'm not sure, Carrots," Nick said as he squeezed her tighter. "But we have to do something," Judy and Nick then proceeded to walk to the nearest bus stop so that they could both go home. They walked silently for about 15 minutes until they found one, they then waited another 5 minutes for a bus to arrive. When they got on they noticed that there were only about three other mammals on the bus, they then found two empty seats and sat next to each other. Judy sat on the seat next to the window as she always liked to look around. She had finally calmed down for a little bit and started to look around the bus, she saw trash on the floor and one mammal she couldn't identify because they were hidden behind an open newspaper.

Judy then noticed Nick, his fur was standing up straight and he seemed to have constricted pupils. "Nick," Judy said but got no reply. "Nick," Judy said again this time lightly shaking the fox. This caused Nick to jump a little, "Nick are you ok?" Judy asked concerned. "Yeah I'm fine carrots, I was just zoning out," Nick replied. Nick lied, he was actually paralyzed with fear. This confused Nick because he hadn't frozen up with fear like this since his early post-war days, as he would often freeze up if something had reminded him of the war or even if he just thought about it. He had gone to many therapists about his mild shell shock and it helped a lot, but they said that he wouldn't completely overcome his disorder, but it would get better in time. He felt like he was going backwards into his recovery. What scared Nick was how these things were able to cover up their tracks so flawlessly. In a matter of a day they completely disappeared as if nothing happened, no secret lair, no dead body, no weird alien mammals, all gone. He knew it wasn't gonna be that easy, but he had hoped to find a little bit of evidence.

They finally reached a bus stop that was the closest to Judy's apartment, it was about a five-minute walk from the stop. "You want me to walk you home, Carrots?" Nick said compassionately. "No I'll be fine, besides you should probably start walking home yourself," Judy said sounding like her regular self. "See you tomorrow, then," Nick said as he proceeded to walk back to his apartment which was about 15-20 minutes away. The city was empty, there were no cars on the road or mammals on the street.

Judy had started to walk home when she suddenly felt an overpowering sense of dread, almost like someone had been following her. Judy stopped dead in her tracks and looked around, but nobody was in sight so she continued walking. She then felt that same feeling again only this time it was stronger, "Hello, is anybody there?" Judy cried out. There was no answer so she continued to walk. Suddenly Judy had a feeling of someone breathing down her neck. This caused Judy to freeze up, she then built up the courage to look behind her, but there was no one in sight. Judy then decided to run the rest of the way to her apartment. When she finally got there she locked the door and started to get ready for bed. Judy then went to her medicine cabinet to get some sleeping pills because she wouldn't be able to sleep without them. When she got in her bed all she could think about was what Nick may be going through on his walk home.


	3. Past mistakes

**Chapter 3: Past Mistakes**

Nick had been walking for about 7 minutes, he was all alone on the sidewalk just as Judy had been. As he was walking he suddenly had a flashback of an artillery barrage from his service in The Great War. It was his shell shock acting up again, he then had another flashback, this time it was during a trench run, and Nick had stabbed another fox right through the chest with his bayonet. Nick was starting to feel like he was back on the frontlines, the overwhelming amount of fear he felt during those times. He had one more flashback only this time it wasn't from the war, it was from his childhood.

It had been from the time when predators were still trying to fit into society after the civil war. It was 1896 and Nick was the son of a former slave and was lucky enough to be educated by his mother, who was one of the rare predators who had gotten an education at that time. But when he was younger his mother mostly kept him inside their new Zootopia apartment to keep him safe. But Nick had always wanted to go out and make friends with other mammals, his mother finally allowed 9-year-old Nick to explore the city and make some friends. Nick was surprised to see the city all the mammals walking around and all the various buildings too. He also noticed that there had been more prey mammals then predator, this, however, did not bother Nick and he carried on. After walking for a bit he saw a group of mammals playing together in an alleyway, all of them had been prey but Nick didn't care.

There were 4 mammals in that place: a woodchuck, a giraffe, a zebra, and a Yak. When they all saw Nick they got kinda scared because they'd never see a fox so close. They were mostly in workplaces or plantations for rich people, not roaming around the streets like normal animals would. But Nick didn't see anything in them, he just wanted to play.

"What are you guys playing? Can I play too?" Nick said enthusiastically, he would finally be able to play with some people his age. He loved playing with his mom, but she wasn't as energetic anymore. The kids then looked at each other with malicious intent. They then started talking really quietly so Nick couldn't hear them. He looked at them weirdly but instantly shrugged it off, they were clearly thinking about what to play. His mom always said to see the good in everybody.

The kids stopped talking and the woodchuck(who seemed to be the "leader" of the group) looked at Nick with a very bright smile that was clearly fake, but Nick couldn't be able to notice it. "Well, what's your name, fox? We ought to know you if you want us to play with you," the woodchuck said in a very demanding voice, and Nick just wouldn't notice it.

"Oh yeah, sorry. My name is Nick Wilde, but you can call me Nick". The woodchuck began to move closer to Nick and the other kids followed. They were getting closer and closer in a very strange way, like if they were zombies. After they got reasonably close to Nick the woodchuck raised his hand to give him a handshake.

"Welcome to our group, Nick. We're the renegades, the outlaws of the south!" the woodchuck said in an exciting manner.

"That name is awesome. W-what do you guys do?" Nick said in amazement.

"Eh, nothing much, it's mostly playing ball, catching some bugs, or even trying to annoy the girls that live by our street and are always being annoying. So we pay them back, by throwing them rocks" the giraffe had spoken for the first time.

"That sounds awesome, when can we start?" Nick couldn't contain his emotions anymore.

"Woah Woah Woah calm down there, Nick. All things to its own time. You first gotta learn our code names and make one for you" the zebra started speaking in a comical way.

"Code names?" Nick was confused.

"Yes, we need code names because the government wants to prosecute us because we've done good things for the people and they don't like that"

Nick, understanding now that it was all a very ingenious game, he said: "Ohh, then may I know all of your code names?" Nick said, getting the hang of the game.

"Okay, you're worthy of knowing our special and secret code names. I'm Woody, the giraffe is Necky, the Zebra is Sprites and the yak is Yakson" Woody said with a slight grin as he winked to his friends.

"Then what's my code name?" Nick said impatiently.

"You, my dear comrade, will be called Orange" Nick liked it. He clearly didn't know what many people use the word "orange" for. It was a derogatory way to call a fox at the time. For the white foxes, they would be called Snowflakes. Those terms were used by speciesist people or slave owners.

"But wait, we are still not finished here, Orange. We still have to go to our Initiation Lair. In there you will say something that will grant you the title of new member of our special society" Woody said. Nick was curious about where the supposed Lair was located.

"Where is that, exactly?" Nick asked

"It's not far from here. Come on, Orange. Are you too scared to go?" Woody challenged the fox as all of his friends were expecting an answer from him.

"Uhhh, o-okay I guess," Nick said, and Woody congratulated him.

"Orange, this is a choice that you won't regret" Woody spoke as if he was a sales pitchman from the streets at the time.

"Follow me, Orange. You don't wanna get lost in here" said Woody and Nick obeyed his orders. He was the leader, after all.

They started walking to the Lair as Nick followed. He was seeing places he had never seen before because of obvious reasons. He had never seen that much prey in one single place. He was in awe at the amount. They kept walking until the vicinity was very far away and Nick was unaware of the horrors that would happen to him on that shack. They finally arrived at a small wooden tool shed that was close to a shallow river and surrounded by trees.

The shed was very old. The windows were nonexistent with some broken glass on the floor. The door was a mess, it had a big part of it destroyed and the wood had big openings because of termites. There were many traces of vandalism too. It seemed like too many kids had found the place and trashed it. No one knew where or who had made that shed, or for what purpose. The police never cared to destroy it since it didn't exactly break any laws. The land wasn't owned by anybody and that shed was legally placed. It also served as a shelter for some homeless mammals.

"Is that the Initiation Lair?," Nick said very frightened. He almost started to regret his decision. Woody and the others noticed.

"Oh come on Nick don't be scared. It may look creepy but it just stinks to rotten eggs inside. Besides, we're gonna be there too, remember? Nothing bad will happen" said Woody in a positive tone. It gained Nick's motivation and now he had bitten the bait and got caught in the fish hook. Nick walked inside the run down shed. It had a pungent and musty aroma, then when he finally walked inside he noticed something. There were chains and shackles hanging from the walls, he also saw rope and even some bullwhips but what stood out to him the most were the muzzles. Nick was afraid and confused about why his new friends had brought him to such a horrible place.

It was a morbid torture dungeon. Since the police never checked the shed again to see if it was secure, it led to Woody and the gang to find it and turn it into a full-on madhouse. They got all the equipment from Sprites' grandfather. He said that he had thousands of them in his basement and he secretly stole some of it. They started building the place 2 years ago and so far it had 2 victims. Nick was gonna be the 3rd.

"Guys w-what is this place?" Nick asked in a frightened tone.

"This shed holds the equipment used to round up monsters like you long ago when it was legal," Woody said in a malicious and blunt voice.

"Yeah it was used to protect us from beasts like you," Sprites said in an evil yet gleeful voice. Nick was now frozen with fear and couldn't do a thing as his newfound "friends" gathered a rope and muzzle and surrounded Nick on all sides.

Necky tripped him over by kicking him in one leg as he let out a whimper. He fell and bruised the right side of his face. Sprites took a rope and started tying his arms so tight it was ripping part of his skin and fur. He started screaming for his life but Yakson acted quick and punched his snout so hard it made him stop screaming. He was suffering in pain.

Woody took the muzzle and tried to put it on him as the other guys were holding him really tight with with the rope. He was a fox, after all, and even though he was a 9-year-old kid his strength was already to the point that he would be able to handle a group of prey mammals like them. As Nick got tired of trying to escape from their grasp Woody took the chance and put the muzzle. He tightened it really hard and he could tell that he was suffering.

"Mmmfmm" Nick couldn't say any words as he had tears running out of his eyes.

They managed to lift him up. "Oh, you've tired already, Orange? I'm really disappointed. I thought you were strong," Woody mockingly stated. "Don't worry, we're not gonna kill you, we're not savages like YOU" he punched Nick in the jawline and loved the muffle screaming that came after.

"Give him the whip!" Stripes said, then Necky followed, "Yeah, the whip! Make him suffer like the demon he is!" Yakson started screaming and then the three chanted, "The whip! The whip! The whip!". Woody then picked up a small whip from the table right behind him. He then proceeded to violently whip Nick, the only thing that could be heard was the gunshot-like sound coming from the whip as it cracked and the muffled screams from Nick. This had been the worse pain Nick had ever felt both physically and emotionally, the pain would only get worse when he was drafted to fight in the great war many years later.

The prey kits kept laughing as Nick kept being whipped and whipped nonstop. Each animal took their turn to do it. They didn't just whip his back, they whipped his legs, arms, and face. They even messed up some of his tail. After having all of their fun, they put a bag on his face and each one gave him the "Finishing Punch" as they called it. Each one chose a part of his body to punch for the last time.

The woodchuck chose his bagged face. He gave it a strong kick. He had also hurt himself a little since he had also kicked the muzzle. Necky kicked his spine where he had most of the whip bruises. Stripes went for the gut and Yakson chose the worst, or the best part, depending on perspective. He had given him a kick in his crotch. Nick screamed with all his might and was surprised that he didn't break any of his vocal cords. He couldn't handle the pain anymore and fainted.

He woke up an hour later with the bag still on his head. He felt water and immediately knew that he was in the shallow river to the side of the shed. He couldn't move. It was being very difficult for him to even move his fingers. Nick then tried to weakly squirm out of the river but every time he tried to move pain shot through his body. After he finally made it to dry land he tried to shake the bag off his head so that he could see again.

As he took the bag he noticed it was wet, but instead of water covering all parts of the bag, there was also blood. His blood. It was a lot. He knew he had many things broken on his body, but it wasn't time for that yet. He needed to take the muzzle off. His face was in deep pain and it was a challenge to take the muzzle off because of all the pain it was causing. His neck, snout, and ears hurt immensely.

He managed to take the muzzle off and he was more relieved. He saw a letter beside him and it read "If you tell someone about us, you're gonna get it" signed by The Woodchuck who kicked your ass. Nick was furious, but couldn't do anything about it at the moment. He just wanted to go home and cry, but he knew he wouldn't last that long and cried right then and there. All of his hopes for a great life shadowed by a stupid woodchuck and his gang of friends.

Nick had finally snapped out of the flashback. His eyes then started to water and moments later he felt the warm tears streaming down his cheeks, he also began to shake violently with fear. He then started taking deep breaths to try and calm himself down but it had no effect. Nick was usually a master of hiding his fear and emotion but that had just gone away and all the poor fox could do was let it all out, standing in the middle of the sidewalk all alone.

"Psst," said a mysterious whisper. This had made Nick Jump and draw his pistol," who's there!" Shouted Nick as he aimed his gun in the general direction of the whisper. "Relax, I'm a friend," said a somewhat deep and smooth voice. "My friend and I can help you, we'll meet you tomorrow morning at your place of business," with his guard down Nick walked in the direction of the voice and found nobody there. He started walking home again, getting there in 5 minutes. Minutes that seemed too long to Nick. As he laid on his bed to sleep he hoped that he would finally get the answers he and Judy desperately needed. Who was that mysterious guy, what did he know? Best not to dwell on it too much. He would get the answers tomorrow. Tomorrow.


	4. Getting ansewrs

**Chapter 4: Getting Answers**

The night had been long for both Judy and Nick as all they could think about were the monsters. But when the morning came they both got ready to go to work. All Nick could think about was the mysterious voice who told him that he and his friend would help him and Judy. He also hoped that he and Judy would get there first so that he could explain to her who they were. Nick finally made it to work. He was relieved to see Judy waiting at the door for him like she did every morning. "You look awful carrots,"

"Didn't sleep well," Judy said in a tired and groggy voice.

"I didn't sleep well either," Nick replied. Judy then unlocked the door and walked inside to her desk, Nick did the same. A little bit after two mammals walked in the door. One of them was a grey-brown coyote with a tan trench coat fedora and a black scarf covering most of his face, he also had jet black eyes.

The other mammal with him was the wolf who had been following Judy and Nick the previous day, however, he was wearing fewer bandages then before revealing his snow-white fur. "Hello Ms. Hopps and Mr. Wilde," said the coyote in the same voice that spoke to Nick the night before from the alley. "I am Paul Dawson and this is my partner Frank Butler," the coyote said in a smooth deep voice.

Judy was startled at the sudden visit from these two strangers. She recognized the wolf but the other animal was unknown to her. "Who are these guys?" she asked Nick.

"I guess we'll know soon enough," said Nick in a serious way.

The wolf-apparently named Frank- began speaking: "I'm guessing you two have already seen me" both of them nodded and Frank sighed.

"I thought I told you to stay hidden, Mr. Butler," the coyote said in a dominating manner.

"I know but these guys look everywhere. I couldn't find a good spot where they couldn't see me. Besides, why didn't you do the job, seeing that you think you're so much better at it!" the duo kept arguing until Nick stepped up and shut them up.

"Alright, stop! Either you tell us why you were stalking us or we're gonna have to prosecute both of you" Nick said with a harsh voice. "We're here because of the deep ones," Paul said.

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked.

"Those creatures you and your lovely partner found," Paul responded.

"See, Frank and I have been hunting them for a long time, and could never find where they meet, yet you and your partner found it in no time."

"What are you guys exactly?"Judy asked. "We hunt the deep ones as well as other anomalies crea-" Frank said before being cut off.

"That's quite enough information for these two, Frank, I don't think they're ready for what we know,"

"What are these deep ones you speak of?" Judy asked.

"The deep ones are an ancient race of beings that have been on this planet far longer than we have, but there's almost no records of them existing, due to the fact that they live deep in the ocean where no mammal can reach, they are very reclusive and hate surface dwellers" said, Paul,.

"Then how did you guys know about our encounter then," Nick asked sternly.

"Well we had heard some gossip of a mammal being kidnapped by fish creatures in the bay area and we just had to check it out for ourselves, as we did some investigating of our own we saw the two of you go into that alley, we would've followed but we saw the deep ones heading towards the alley you went too and we assumed you were killed," Frank replied.

"But it caught us by surprise when we saw the two of you run out alive, so I sent Frank to follow you so that we could meet up," added Paul "now if you two could tell us what they did in there that would be great," Judy and Nick hesitated for a bit then Nick decided to speak up.

"Well when they got down there they mentioned something about their numbers dwindling and the need for a sacrifice, what did they mean exactly?" asked Nick

"What they meant was that they needed more mammals to breed with the deep ones in order to make more deep ones, this is due to a pact made by a group of mammals who live in the city of Innsmouth so that they would get more fish so that the town would prosper," Frank said.

"How come you know so much about this?" Judy asked.

Paul and Frank looked at each other and then proceed to remove some of their clothing to reveal that they themselves were deep ones. Paul seemed like he was in a more advanced state than Frank since he had more developed gills in his face and his eyes were more like a fish than a normal mammal, which answered why his eyes were black.

Judy and Nick were frozen with shock, "Now don't worry, we're not at full maturity yet so we won't try and kill you, but we occasionally get very wrathful when near other mammals and we may lash out and attack them, but we are good at keeping our hatred in check so you two should be safe," Paul said in a reassuring tone.

"S-so for how long have you two been like this?" Judy asked them.

"We've pretty much been like this since we were born however we didn't start to show traits till our late teens," Paul said.

"So will you two eventually turn into one of those things?" Judy asked.

"Normally yes, however, Frank and I have formed a suicide pact and we will both die before we do," Paul replied.

"Wow you two must be very close friends then," Judy said softly.

"Yes...very close friends," Paul said in a somewhat nervous tone.

"Are you alright Mr. Dawson, your ears are twitching, is something wrong?" Judy asked in a compassionate yet concerned tone.

"Oh this…is just because i'm..a bit paranoid is all, nothing major," He replied somewhat embarrassed. Frank knew the source of his paranoia and started coughing to release the tension a little bit.

"So why do you two hate the deep ones despite being ones yourself?" Nick asked in a smug tone.

"Well both Frank and I have different reasons for hating them so we shall both tell our reasons individually," Paul said "I shall go first. Many years ago my mother traveled to Innsmouth because she heard of how great their fish was. She was surprised that she had never heard of the town despite living rather close to it. She eventually met a handsome young coyote whom was to become my father. The two eventually fell in love and got married. But when my mother wanted to have children she discovered why she had never heard of the town.

My father had explained the pact with the deep ones and that she would have to be impregnated by one. She was opposed to this idea but was forced to go through by my father. After she became pregnant she wanted to run away but father had threatened to kill her if she did. She eventually had me and was the only thing she ever loved and as I got older she was the only person i ever loved. When I was about 12 she had wanted to run away with me but father threatened to kill me if she proceeded. She then got in front of me and told me to run and not look back. I had gotten to the door of our house and regretfully looked back. And as I did my father...he…he,"

"You don't have to share that part Paul," Frank said compassionately as he put his hand on Paul's shoulder.

"No it's alright, I can do it. My father then grabbed my mother and proceed to rip her apart with his claws. The last thing I saw before running away was my fathers horrible fish like head, with its bulging black eyes and mouth filled with dagger-like teeth. I then ran to the outskirts of town and hid in an alleyway where i met my partner Frank, now he can tell you why he was hiding in that alley in the first place"

"Welp, it's time for my story time. I was 7 years old when I found out I was a deep one. My father was a cultist and he took well care of me. On my near teenage years everything fell down. I became very hostile towards my dad because I got angry very easily. I decided to not hurt my dad anymore and just ran away from home at 11 years old. I once snuck into one of the cult meetings since I used to see my dad getting there all the time.

There I saw the most horrific thing. An innocent person was being abused by a deep one, by the monster I was supposed to become. My dad was there. He was smiling. Smiling sadistically. He was enjoying it. I didn't even see anything on his face that indicated he wanted to find me. After the abuse, they just killed the innocent mammal. Killed him in cold blood. I knew then and there that he wasn't my father. My real father got killed by those fucking degenerates," Frank stopped for a minute to calm himself down.

"After that I just ran, knowing that everything was a lie. I spent 2 years in the streets, as a hobo, no home to go to. It was still better than being surrounded by those filthy beasts. I met someone that was kind enough to get me out of there and I accepted. I had to wait in an alleyway at night for him to show up in an automobile. That's when I saw Paul for the first time. He looked like a mess and was crying a lot. I didn't see his face and I told him to shut up. He kept on crying and I had to go and shut his mouth and that's when I saw his face. He was a deep one too as I saw he had gills, and I got surprised because I never saw someone that was close to my age and was also a deep one. Long story short I made him stop crying and we both got out of Innsmouth in the automobile, and that's how we became partners" Frank said in an uplifting tone.

"I'm so sorry you two had to go through that, I could never imagine such a horrible life," Judy said sympathetically.

"It wasn't so bad we had each other and that was all we needed," Paul said in a joyful tone.

"Now how exactly are you gonna help us?" asked Nick.

"Well with your knowledge of one of the deep ones gathering places, we hope to find where they mainly live now and wipe them out," Paul replied.

"What do you mean by 'mainly live now', I thought you said they lived in Innsmouth," Judy said confused.

"They did, until that big hurricane that hit a few years back, it flooded the town and caused the townsfolk to leave and find somewhere else to live, that's what we've been trying to find," Frank said.

"But now we know they must be in Zootopia or somewhere nearby, thanks to the two of you, now how exactly did you find their meeting place?" asked Paul.

"We got information from a strange cat in one of the nearby pubs," Nick replied.

"That's where we'll start," Frank responded. They then prepared to go back to the bay. It took about an hour to get there due to there being heavy traffic and good number of mammals getting on and off the bus as well. It took them another 15 minutes to get to the bar.

"Are there any cops around, because alcohol is still very much illegal" Paul said concerned.

"No not much happens over here anyway, besides Mr. Big runs most of this side of town so we should be safe," Nick replied. As they entered the speakeasy, the smell of alcohol was very pungent and was pretty much all you could smell. Many mammals were passed out or extremely drunk and loud. They didn't see the cat so they looked for the mammals who were the least drunk to ask about him. The first was a grey fox wearing a boat captain's outfit smoking a cigar.

"Excuse me, sir, have you seen a well dressed black cat anywhere?" Judy asked.

" Nope, haven't seen any cats in here lass," the fox said in a gruff voice. They then went to an otter in a sailor uniform with a large scar on his face. "Sir have you seen a black cat anywhere?" Nick asked.

"Can't say I have," he said in a raspy voice. Then Judy heard the cat's voice.

"Bar, keep another whiskey, please," he said pleasantly.

"Sir we've been looking for you," Judy said.

"Ah it's you," the cat said in a jovial tone, "And I see you've brought friends," he said disgustedly. "Are these canids bothering you, I can take you away from them if you'd like," the cat added.

"Excuse me, sir these 'canids' are my friends," Judy said angrily.

"How could a nice rabbit like you possibly make friends with filth like them," the cat said smugly, "But at least they aren't as bad as rodents, they're the real vermin and should be exterminated," said the cat sternly. Judy was furious but for the sake of getting more info on the deep ones she decided to keep it to herself. "Sir how did you know where the meeting place of the deep ones was?," as Judy said this a number of the patrons turned their heads towards her.

"You want me to give away their secrets, are you daft? If I did that I would be their next sacrifice," the cat said in a surprised tone. "I told you about it that night because I was feeling happy and nonchalant, but now I have lost interest in you and your canid friends" the cat said defyingly. Judy could no longer hold in her wrath.

"Listen here buddy, you better tell me about the deep ones or I'm gonna kick your guts out!"

The Cat was unfazed and kept having the same straight face from seconds ago and spoke again "Well if you're so desperate for answers why don't you ask some deep ones yourself?" he said as he got up and pointed to a large group of hybrid mammals. "Have fun," the cat said sarcastically as he exited the bar. As he left the hybrids started to pull out knives, broken bottles, and even their own claws, Judy knew that they were going to have to fight their way out.

A beaver hybrid rushed toward Judy and attempted to throw a punch at her, she was able to dodge and then deliver a swift yet powerful kick to the beavers stomach knocking his wind out causing him to land on the ground. A wolf tried to attack her from behind but was struck in the head by a chair being held by Nick,"have a seat," Nick deadpanned. Paul took out his claws and slashed another hybrid across the neck killing him. This shocked Judy. It reminded her of Clayton and how he met his end. She froze.

Another hybrid with a knife was about to stab Judy before Frank jumped in front of him and stabbed him in the chest with his claws, but he was not fast enough to avoid being stabbed himself with the knife. It was a cut in the left side of his waist. "Frank are you alright?," Paul said in a worried tone. "I'm fine," Frank said as he threw a hybrid into a larger group knocking them all on the floor.

"All in one!" Nick said in a goofy way. He then noticed Judy just standing there. "Judy, are you ok?" Nick asked, there was no response from Judy. "Judy are you alright?" Nick said as he went to her position. When he got there he saw that her nose was twitching and that she was looking at something. Nick looked in the direction of Judy's eyes were and saw the corpse of the hybrid that Paul had killed. It was laying there with blood oozing out of its neck and it was twitching. Nick then wrapped his arms around Judy and turned her away from the corpse. "It's ok Judy I've got you, i won't let them hurt you just relax," said Nick in a soft and compassionate voice. Paul realized how shocked Judy was.

"Poor rabbit" he said comprehensively before being pushed to the ground by a bear hybrid. Frank came rapidly to help and Paul screamed. "I got this, Frank! Go protect Nick and Judy!"

"Got it!" screamed Frank and went to their help.

The bear hybrid was strong and kept pulling him down as he tried to choke him. Paul clawed his paws and the bear let him go. He then began hitting him in the face and stomach but the bear seemed unfazed. He got his claws out and started to try and cut the small coyote, but he was agile enough to avoid all of them except one that cut him in the shoulder. Paul dropped to the floor and as the bear was about to give him the finishing blow, he got up again and punched him in the throat. He started coughing and this gave Paul the opportunity to slash his neck with his claws. The bear was finally dead. There was no time to rest as he went to help Nick and Judy alongside Frank.

He was surprised that all of the other hybrids left were knocked out. A panting Frank stood in front of the duo. He protected them efficiently. "Good job, Frank" he nodded and smiled as he heard the compliment. He got closer to the rabbit"

"Judy what's the matter?" Paul asked Judy concerned for her well being. Nick was still hugging her when she turned her head to answer him. "W-when y-you killed that m-mammal it...it… r-reminded me o-of when we first encountered those monsters, they killed an innocent fox right in front of us with its claws,"

"I'm so sorry Judy. Frank and I won't use our claws to kill anyone unless critically necessary," Paul said as he put his paw on her shoulder.

"You guys seem to have been through a lot lately, why don't you take some time away from this and Paul and I will do some investigating of our own," Suggested Frank.

"I think that's exactly what Judy and I need right now," Nick replied.

"Splendid. Frank and I will investigate here some more while you two go do something fun," said Paul.

"Bye guys we'll see you again when we see you," said Nick as he escorted Judy out of the bar, "Come on Judy lets go lock up the office and have some fun,"

"Sounds like a plan," Judy said as she started to calm down. Once they finally made it back to their office they saw an envelope stuck on the door. Judy opened it and pulled out a piece of thick paper with gold accents and some writing, it read

 _Dear Mrs. Hopps and , I am grateful for your help._

 _In return I have invited you both to my mansion for a party I have decided to host._

 _-Jay_

 _P.S. make sure to dress formally as many members of Zootopia's elite will be there and I don't want you to look like fools_

"I remember Jay, he hired us to see if his wife was cheating on him," Nick said.

"Nick!" Judy shouted.

"What is it carrots?" Nick asked confused.

"I need a new dress for the Party!" Judy said frantically.

"And how does that involve me?" Nick said in a puzzled way.

"That you're gonna accompany me to the store and you will help me decide on one" her sadness completely left her body and got excited.

"Wait a second, Carrots. You don't even know if I wanna go to that party of his. I didn't like him that much in the first place"

"Nick, we haven't had a good de-stressing day in months. Let's all forget about all this deep one crap for a second and just have a good time. C'mon partner, you and me. Pretty please" Judy said as she put on a pleading face. "Ok carrots let's go," even though Nick was unsure if he even wanted to go he was happy to see Judy as her normal self again and accompanied her to pick out a new dress.

 _At the bar_

The speakeasy was silent. No trace of any voices or any lively interactions. The fight was shorter than Paul and Frank thought it would be. They went around looking for someone conscious enough to be able to be interrogated. The smell of blood captured in the scene gave a horrible odor that both partners were too familiar with. Something they didn't like.

"Hey Paul, do you think we're becoming too violent already?" said Frank, "I mean, look at this mess. We caused this. This death. This blood. We're being just like them"

Paul thought about what he said and then began speaking: "We are nothing like these beasts, Frank. These people have killed more people than we have. It is best that we terminally end them. We can't feel any emotions for them. Do you understand?" Paul said sternly. Not a single knot in his tongue.

"Yes, I understand, but we can't always fight fire with fire. Remember that. We're still better than them. We can find different solutions together" As Frank spoke he got closer to Paul and put his paw on his shoulder.

"Ugh I hate it when you get smart on me, knucklehead" smiled Paul, spreading it to Frank too who also smiled warmly.

A sudden sound of a bottle breaking ruined the moment as they saw a Wolf hybrid trying to flee.

Without thinking Paul picked up a bottle and threw it at the hybrid, it hit it in the back of its head causing it to fall over.


End file.
